Amalgamator.



J. W. MOGALLIARD.

AMALGAMATOR. APPLICATION PIIBI? SEPT. 21, 1910.

Patented June 16, 1914.

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J. W. MOGALLIARD.

AMALGAMATOR.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 21, 1910.

Patented June 16,1914.

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, UNTED STATESi PATEN T onnion.

JOSEPH W. IVcGALLIAR-D, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO NICHOLAS A. IJARCY, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

AMALGAMATOR.

T 0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, JosnrH W. MCGALL-` IARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have in-` vented a new and useful Amalgamator, of which the following is' a specification.

contained in pulp, heavy sands and other mineral bearing materials, said apparatus bein@- ad`ustable for o eratinv u on various b C materials under various conditions.

In carrying out this inventiony strength,

simplicity, compactness, cheapness of manufacture, convenience and economy of operation, avoidance of flouring the mercury,

completeness of amalgamation, certainty of saving all the values, and ease of clean-u are further objects designed to be obtaine description.

invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an amalgamating machine built in accordance with this invention. A portion of the tailings trough is shown. The drum is adjusted to a desired inclination. Some of the interior parts are; shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an elevation of said machine looking at the discharge end; the rifile-drum being in parallelism:

with the frame. The tail rail is broken away at the top to expose the worm gearing. Fig. 3 is a plan view from the front of Fig. 1 and from the left of Fig. 2; the rifile drum being in parallelism with the frame and broken to expose some of the internal` rlhe arrangement of the rittles, the

parts. baiiles, the feed nozzle and jet heads are indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional elevation on line m4, Figs. 2, 3, 5 and 6. Fig. 5 is a cross section on line m5, Figs. 1, 3 and 4 in an intermediate scale. A portion of the driving` mechanism is omitted. Fig. 6 isk a cross section of the drum looking toward the head of the machine from line we, Figs.

1, 3 and 4, splitting a riftle, one lamina of which is partially broken away to show theV feed pipe, a charge, a baliie, and a jet head of the manifold. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary detail in longitudinal section on line Im7, Fig.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 21, 1910.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Serial No. 583,107.

6, to show the under side of one of the jet h eads. Fig. 8 isa fragmentary detail from line ms, Fig.v 5, to illustrate one of the rails and a pair of the rollers that carry the drum. Fig. 9 is a plan view of one of the bafl'les.

Arrows on the lines of section in the different views indicate the direction of sight.

The drum 1 is preferably an open-ended straight cylinder formed of a sheet metal shell 2 and a lining 3 made of staves of wood or other suitable material. Said drum is provided externally with two annular rails 4, 5, that are preferably T-shape in cross section and fastened to the outside of the drum by screws 6 through the base of the rail. Said rails are carried by anti-friction rollers 7 that are journaled on bolsters 8 and 9, that. extend from side to side underneath the drum; the rails and the bolsters being 1 disposed near the opposite ends of the drum, by various features of the invention as Will more fully appear from the subjoined detail i ing a roller on either side of each rail so as The accompanying drawings illustrate the` and the rollers being arranged in pairs near the opposite ends of the bolsters; there bemembers 10, 11, of metal separated by a wooden-filler 12, all being firmly fastened together by bolts 13. The filler in the tail bolster 9 has a downward extension 12 to form a plane surface on which is fastened by screws 14 a bearing plate 15 the ends of which rest upon adjusting screws 1G threaded through a nut plate 17 that is fastened to a cross-piece 18 of the frame a; the adjusting screws serving to raise and lower the tail bolster to adjustablv incline the drinn.

The outer members of the head bolster 8 are fastened at their ends by bolts 19 to the head standards 20 which are preferably composed of two outer members 21 of strap iron and an intermediate member Q1 of wood, the three being fastened together by bolts 21". The two outer standard members 21 are bent over at their lower ends upon an axle 22 and fastened there by bolts Q3. The axle may be of strap iron, the ends being rounded to form journals 24; mounted in boxes 25, which are provided with set screws 26 to engage the journals to prevent the axle 22 from turning after the drum has been adjusted. The strap iron members 21 are bent outwardly at their upper ends to form supports for the journal boxes 27 of a worm shaft 28 that is driven by any suitable power to rotate the drum. The head standards 20 are braced by stays 29 fastened by the bolts 19 and slanted downwardly to the head end of the frame to which they are fastened by bolts 30 passed through slots 31 in the lower end of the stays, thus to steady the standards in different positions as the slope or inclination of the drum is changed. The worm shaft 28 passes over the top of the drum and is provided with a worm 32 that meshes with an annular gear 33 that surrounds and is fixed to the drum, and that is a part of the rail 4, thus forming means to rotate the drum. The worm shaft 1s provided on one end with a pulley 34 driven by a belt 35 which passes downwardl over a pulley 36 fastened to a shaft 37 that 1s journaled at 38 beneath the frame. The power shaft 37 is provided at its outer end with a stepped-pulley 39 to afford means for driving the drum at different speeds and with various forms of power.

The outer ends of the tail-bolster 9 are connected to the tail standards 40 on opposite sides of the drum, by bolts 41 accommodated in slots 42 in the standards, the bolt and slot forming adjustable means for holding the drum at any desired inclination. The tail standards are preferably forgings forming two members of angular cross-section joined at their tops and bent outward at their bottoms to form flanges 43 which are fastened by bolts 44 to the frame.V

The drum 1 is provided at one end with a head preferably composed of annular inner and outer members 45, 46, the inner member 45 being nailed or otherwise fastened to the ends of the drum staves 3 inside of the metal shell and the outer member 46 being fastened by screws 47 to the inner member and resting against the end of the metal shell 2. The opening through the outer member is cylindrical and the opening through the inner member flares inwardly. Material may be fed to the drum through the head in a number of different ways without limiting the scope of the invention. In the method of feed shown in the drawing a feed -pipe 48 leads from a source of supply, not shown, where mineral-bearing pulp or other material flows through the feed-pipe which is provided on its inner end with an elbow 49 and nipple 50, to form a nozzle arranged at an angle to discharge the material onto the drum-lining as it moves downward when the drum revolves, thus to avoid banking and flouring. The feed pipe is supported at the head end of the frame by a bracket 51 fastened by a bolt 52 and wing nut 53 to a post 54, and preferably formed of light strap iron bent around the feed pipe and provided with a slot 55 to accommodate the bolt 52 in order that the feed pipe may be vertically adjusted.

The staves 3 of the drum are provided at intervals with annular grooves 56 adapted to receive the edge of an annular tongue 57 preferably a lamina of metal, each of which tongues is clamped between the outer edges of two annular riflie members or laminte 58, 59, preferably of wood or the like grooved to receive the tongue, and fastened together by bolts 60. By the tongue and groove construction it is evident that the amalgam is protected from contact with the strengthening metal tongue and such protection is especially important where sodium is employed in the amalgamator. The wooden laminae 58, 59, may be formed of lumber cut across the grain, the grains being crossed. The laminae are preferably made of bent wood, to secure equal pressure when swollen, and to give great strength to the drum so that during transportation the drum may not be injured by jolts and jars. The riie laminae 58, 59, may be segmental so that they may be removed and replaced with new when worn. The riflles serve the usual purpose in the amalgamating art, of retaining the heavy metallic materials and allowing the lighter materials to How over them and escape.

A manifold 61 adapted to carry water and provided between the riiies with valves 62 to regulate the flow of the water extends from end to end of the drum and the valves are connected to inverted T-shape jet heads 63 that may be Ts slightly shorter than the distance between adjacent rifiies and provided longitudinally with a number of holes 64, the end holes being as close as possible to the ends of the jet head. The valves and jet heads of the manifold are disposed at an angle and by reason of the Ts in the construction of the jet heads they will lie close to the wall of the drum regardless of the height `of the rifiie members, so as to bring the holes close to that side of the drum lining that rises during rotation, and the holes are so arranged as to direct jets of water downward at an angle less than a right angle to the contiguous portion of the drum so that the full force of the jet is preserved in order to wash the heavier materials from the surface of the drum lining and cause cross currents relative to the longitudinal flow of the materials. By this means the metal bearing materials are continuously agitated so as to hold the heavier as well as the lighter materials in suspension and eventually cause them, especially those containing iron, to fow over the riiiles and out of the drum.

The manifold 61 isprovided at both ends of the frame with brackets 65, 66, similar in construction to brackets 51 hereinbefore described and are similarly adjustable on the head and tail posts 67, 68, of the frame so as to vertically adjust the jet heads of the manifold relative to the drum and independent of the drum adjustment to meet the various conditions of operation.

Battle-plates 69 are provided between each two adjacent ritlleg andl are formed of light sheet metal bent on both sides of the vertical axial plane of the drum to form semicircular blades 70 that are concavely curved from side to side toward the head-end of the drum, so as to cause eddies in the material flowing through the drum as indicated by the arrows in Fig. l, thus producing pressure of the material upon the mercury confined between each two adjacent riilles; each baffle-plate being provided midway with a stem 71 fastened thereto by a rivet 72. The stem of each batlie-plate passes upward through a longitudinally slotted suspension bar 73 and has nuts 74. threaded thereon to adjustably secure the bathe-plate. The baille-plate bar 73 is supported at its ends by brackets 75, 76 of angular shape formed of bar-iron.

The head bracket extends downward in a flange 77 which is fastened to the head post 67 belowthe bracket 65 by a bolt 79 and wing-nut 8.0, the bolt being accommodated in a slot 81 of the flange 77. The brackets are adjustable upon the posts by means of the bolts and wing-nuts so as to adjust the baffle-plates vertically. The tail bracket 76 extends to one side of the machine and is similar in construction to the head bracket 7 5, being adjustable on the tail posts 82 and provided through its top with a set-screw 83 adapted to engage the bar 73 to adjustably hold said bar against longitudinal movement. By loosening the set screw 83 the bar 73 may be shifted to simultaneously adjust the baflies axially and longitudinally of the drum so that the position of the baille-produced eddies may be altered to suit the material flowing through the drum.

Flanged clean up ports 89 held in place by nuts 90 are provided in spiral arrangement around the drum in inter-rilile spaces and are closed by plugs 91 that screw into the ports.

In practice the apparatus may be stationed where required and the drum may be brought to the required inclination by turning the adjusting screws 16, thus tilting the standards 20 on the pivots 24 until the drum is properly inclined so that materials fed through the pipe 48 will flow over the riffles from head to tail of the machine7 as required by the material to be treated. Charges 92 of quicksilver are introduced into the spaces between the rifHes and the manifold 61 is connected with a water supply and the valves'62 are adjusted to produce the requisite jets in the inter-riliie spaces, and the power is applied to rotate the drum slowly in the direction indicated by the large arrows thereon in the several views. As the mineral carrying liquid flows onward its current is broken by the baffles which form eddies as indicated in Fig. 3, thus producing` a downward pressure of the liquid upon the quicksilver but allowingI the lighter materials to flow around the ends of the baiiles, and it is agitated and stirred by the jets and the mineral is brought into intimate contact with the mercury and amalgamation takes place in the charges so that by the time the material reaches the tail of the drum it has lost all its values and Hows off in the tailings trough 93. To clean up the machine the feed will be shut oil and the bai'lies lowered until most of the material except the amalgam is washed out. The drum is then stopped and the clean-out plug at the head-end of the drum will be removed and the drum turned to draw olf the amalgam. The other plugs will then be removed until all the amalgam has been drawn olf. It may not always be desirable to clean out all of the riiiies at one time and this can be determined by inspection after the pulp or other material has been washed out. After such riiiles as may require cleaning have been cleaned they will be recharged and the machine again be put in operation.

By lowering or raising the baffle-bar 73 the baffles may be made to increase or lighten the pressure of the flowing material upon the mercury and by moving the baille-bar 73 endwise the line at which such pressure is applied to the mercury will be moved up and down the drum as required between the riiiles. llhe baflles are stationary when the machine is in operative condition so as not to stir and flour the quicksilver.

In case the operator desires to provide for different applications of pressure in the several rifile spaces, this may be done by independently adjusting the baflles along the baille-bars, and also vertically as occasion may require.

Special attention is directed to the particular semi-circular form of and arrangement of the baille-plates 69 as they effect in the art the production of whirlpools or vortexes which draw toward and suck down through their central cavities the lighter gold-bearing particles that would otherwise flow over the riliies and eventually escape from the drum; and it is seen that I have produced in combination with means for retaining an amalgamating agent, means to cause mineral carrying liquid to form vorteXes in said retaining means. This will be lee clear by referring to Fig. 3 of the drawings where small arrows indicate the direction of the currents forming the vorteXes, the centers of which carrying the lighter gold-bearing particles discharge beneath the lower edge of the baffle-plate 69, thus passing such lighter gold-bearing particles in close proximity to the amalgamating agent. This is of the utmost importance for, though baiieplates have heretofore been employed to obstruct the fiow of the material so that the heavier goldbearing particles will be brought into contact with the amalgamating agent to effect amalgamation, baflie-plates have not heretofore been constructed so as to produce vorteXes discharging beneath the lower edges of the baffle-plates as in my device so as to carry down the lighter goldbearing particles that would otherwise flow over or around the ends of the baffle-plates and thus remain unamalgamated and in consequence lost.

I claim:

1. An amalgamating machine comprising an open ended drum, rittles inside the drum, adjustable means to incline the drum, means to rotate the drum, a manifold inside the drum, valves connected to the manifold between the riffles, heads connected to the valves and provided with holes adapted to direct jets downward to the contiguous portion of the drum, means to support the manifold, means to adjust the manifold sup# port relative to the drum, baflies between the riiiies, means to support the baffles, means to adjust the baffles, means to adjust the baffle support relative to the drum and opening and closing means in the drum between the riflies.

2. In an amalgamating machine the combination with a rotatable drum, of riiles inside the drum each composed of annular laminae, the two outer laminae being of wood and having annular grooves on their inner faces adapted to accommodate a portion of a relatively narrower metal lamina of larger diameter, there being annular grooves on the inside of the drum to accommodate another portion of said lamina of larger diameter; and means to fasten the laminae together.

3. In an amalgamating machine having rifles, stationary baffle means arranged be tween the riflles and having blades that are concavely curved from side to side toward the head of the machine.

4. An amalgamating machine comprising a frame, rotary means mounted on the frame and adapted to agitate mineral bearing material flowing therein, means to operate the rotary means, means to adjust the rotary means to regulate the flow, etting means inside the rotary means to further agitato the material, means to adjust the jetting means relative to the rotary means, and stationary baflie means inside the rotary means to control the flow of and cause eddies in thc matcrial.

5. In an amalgamating machine a drum comprising a shell, a lining inside the shell, said lining being provided with annular grooves, and riftles inside said grooves, each riflle being composed of three annular lamime, the outer laminae being of wood and the intermediate lamina being of metal and contained in grooves in the other two lamina@ and extending into one of the annular grooves.

6. In an amalgamating machine having means to retain a mercury charge, the combination therewith of a baille-plate suspended above and having its lower edge spaced apart from the bottom of said mercury charge retaining means and bent at both sides to form semi-circular blades substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination with means for retaining an amalgamating agent, of a vertically arranged baffle having its lower edge spaced apart from the bottom of said retaining means, said baliie being bent on both sides of the median line to form semi-circular blades that are concavely curved from side to side toward the head-end of said retaining means so as to form vortexes discharging beneath the lower edge of the baflie-plate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this 15th day of September, 1910.

JOSEPH W. MCGALLIARD.

In presence of- GEORGE I-I. HILES, JAMES R. TowNsnND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

